PC Critic Reviews

This ain't your grandfather's space strategy game. Stellaris opens up a whole new perspective on galactic conquest, and in doing so sets the bar for the genre for years to come.

Stellaris is a new grand strategy masterpiece; one of the best space strategy game on the market.

Stellaris is simply wonderful. If you enjoy grand strategy games then you’ll love this. If you don’t then this could be the one to change your mind. If you’ve been too intimidated to try the genre before now, then here’s your ideal starting point.

Stellaris is easy to comprehend and exciting to execute, which is a perfect combination for a genre notoriously difficult to break into.

Unreasonable expectation of perfection aside, Stellaris is a expertly blended mosaic of 4X, grand strategy and self-created narrative. For the relatively small niche that this game occupies, it is the undisputed master and commander.

Whether you're a Paradox pro or newcomer, Stellaris invites you to a grand strategy experience like no other. With its beautiful visuals, deep exploration mechanics, inspiring soundtrack and intriguing mysteries, Stellaris is bound to make you boldly go where no man - or woman - has gone before.

Calling Stellaris Europa Universalis in space is probably reductive, but it was the first thing I did in this review not because they are almost exactly alike, but because, when I put away my empires and get on with my day, the stories that have played out in these digital worlds embed themselves in my brain, and I so desperately want to tell people about them. Both games tickle the part of my brain that wants every battle to have some greater context, every move I make to be part of a larger narrative. Stellaris manages to do this without history to lean on, though, and does so with aplomb.

As many other videogames developed by Paradox, Stellaris speaks to a very small niche. Complex and uncompromising, it shows an impressive effort to bring the gameplay of a Grand Strategy Game into the space.

While this almost feels like "Sim Universe" at times, the core difference is in something for which to strive and active threats beyond your own mishandling of resources and the occasional fire to put out. There's a whole universe out there, and I can't wait to play through Stellaris as many times as it takes to experience the whole thing.

Stellaris is immense, so deep and complex that sometimes is hard to picture all its possibilities. Without a doubt, this is a great game with a lot of love and effort put into it, and the potential to steal many hours of our time.